Egyptair has formally joined the Star Alliance after an integration period lasting just nine months.
The Cairo-based carrier completed its remarkably rapid absorption into the alliance after signaling its intent last November and in a glittering joining ceremony in the Egyptian capital, becomes the 21st member of the grouping.
Egyptair's accession forms a neat symmetry to Star's African network - linking with South African Airways (SAA) – with both carriers able to take advantage of a thawing in civil aviation rules across the continent as Alliance CEO Jan Albrecht outlined.
"Our strategy for Africa started three years ago with SAA," he said. "There are 305 airports in Africa and little east and west traffic but there is quite a liberal agreement known as Yamoussouko, which allow the civil transport authorities to promote a kind of Open Skies that allows relationships between carriers."
A quick look at the map of Africa can see how both Egyptair and SAA's networks could be combined more effectively to connect hitherto remotely served cities that sometimes only see one or two services per week. Equally, both airlines have had to pass a rigorous safety audit in order to be even considered as an Alliance member - a key factor when evaluating African aviation.
"Egypt and South Africa are the two largest markets in Africa [but] there is a void in the centre, west and east," said Albrecht, noting that an SAA passenger arriving into Cairo could easily take a connecting flight on Egyptair's Continental network.
And despite Africa's undoubted problems, business travel is nonetheless forming an ever-increasingly vital element of both Egyptair's and SAA's models. It is partly this phenomenon that has been the catalyst for both carriers to examine how their respective schedules can dovetail more effectively.
Egypt also colours in another of Star Alliance's famous 'white spots' – the description the grouping uses to identify where in the world its 18,000 daily departures to 162 countries do not currently serve - as Egyptair chairman and CEO Captain Tawfik Assy noted: "Joining Star Alliance represents a convergence of interests in its full meaning," he said.
"The white spot strategy, which aims for better coverage of areas where the Alliance is not as strong as it desires [means that] Egyptair is considered the gateway to North Africa and the Middle East.
Assy acknowledged that Egyptair was not in the same league as other Middle East powerhouses that are currently experiencing a boom in business travel – particularly capitalizing on the power of their hubs – but he nonetheless said that his carrier's accession was proof that Star recognised its potential.
"Despite the existence of other airlines in the region with more resources and capabilities than Egyptair, our team convinced Star Alliance of our merit to join," he said.
And if Egyptair ever had any doubts concerning the wisdom of joining the ever-expanding club, it only has to look across the Mediterranean to Turkey, whose national flag carrier became part of Star Alliance in April.
"International transit passengers have increased by 55%, business class customers have risen 6%, while all international traffic is up 21% and that of domestic traffic up by 10%," said Turkish Airlines president and CEO Dr Temel Kotil, also present at the Cairo event.
